Officer Norma Eisenman says the 51-year-old Mariotti was arrested early Saturday in the police department's Pacific Division following a "domestic incident." Eisenman declined to provide further details.

The Sheriff's Department website confirms Mariotti was booked on an undisclosed felony charge at 5:45 a.m.

He was released on $50,000 bail just after noon Saturday.

ESPN spokesperson Josh Krulewitz said, "We've just learned of it and are looking into it," declining further comment.

Mariotti lives in Los Angeles. He is a panelist on the ESPN show "Around the Horn" and writes a regular column for the sports website Fanhouse.com, which is owned by AOL.

He was a longtime columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times.

FanHouse editor-in-chief Scott Ridge said, "We are in the process of gathering the facts, and we have no further comment at this time."